ditch

(redirected from ditch some place)

ditch (someone)

To leave, abandon, or purposefully lose someone. My little brother was being a real pest around me and my friends, so we decided to ditch him in the mall.I can't believe she ditched me to go hang out with her friends!

ditch (something)

hurler on the ditch

A person who offers unsolicited criticism or advice about something in which he or she is not an active participant. Taken from the sport of hurling, a player of which is a hurler. Primarily heard in Ireland. All these people condemning the political process from social media, many of whom I'm sure don't vote, are just hurlers on the ditch in my opinion.

keep it between the ditches

1. To drive safely; to stay on the road. (Usually said imperatively.) Whoa there, son. I know you're only just learning, but try to keep it between the ditches!

2. To behave properly or appropriately; to stay out of trouble or harm's way; keep to the straight and narrow. (Often said imperatively.) Okay, Bob, I'll see you after you're back from your trip. Keep it between the ditches now, you hear?

last-ditch attempt

A final effort or attempt to solve a problem or avoid failure or defeat, especially after a series of failures or setbacks. The home team is mounting one last-ditch attempt in the final seconds of the game to try to force an overtime showdown.In a last-ditch attempt to avoid a government shutdown, congress has pushed forward a new spending bill.

the ox is in the ditch

The situation is dire and requires urgent and undivided attention to resolve it. Taken from the Bible (Luke 14), in which Jesus demonstrates to the Pharisees that some emergencies must be dealt with immediately, even if it means breaking the sabbath to do so. I was always taught to keep Sunday as a holy day, but you know as well as I do that if the ox is in the ditch, then you need to do what you can to make things right, no matter what day of the week it is!With our engine shot, stranded out on this desert highway, it seemed pretty clear to me that the ox was in the ditch.

ox-in-the-ditch

Of or relating to a situation that is dire and requires urgent and undivided attention to resolve it. Taken from the Bible (Luke 14), in which Jesus demonstrates to the Pharisees that some emergencies must be dealt with immediately, even if it means breaking the sabbath to do so. I was going to miss the biggest meeting of the year, but my daughter's sickness was an ox-in-the-ditch situation.

last-ditch effort

A final effort or attempt to solve a problem or avoid failure or defeat, especially after a series of failures or setbacks. The home team is mounting one last-ditch effort in the final seconds of the game to try to force an overtime showdown.In a last-ditch effort to avoid a government shutdown, congress has pushed forward a new spending bill meant to plug the debt ceiling for another year.

last-ditch

a last-ditch attempt to solve a problem is the final attempt that you make after you have failed several times to solve it (always before noun) The gesture has been seen by many as a last-ditch attempt to win voters.The UN is trying to secure talks between the two sides in a last-ditch effort to avert war.

dull as dishwater

Boring, tedious, as in That lecture was dull as dishwater. The original simile, dull as ditchwater, dating from the 1700s, alluded to the muddy water in roadside ditches. In the first half of the 1900s, perhaps through mispronunciation, it became dishwater, that is, the dingy, grayish water in which dirty dishes had soaked.

last-ditch effort

A desperate final attempt, as in We're making a last-ditch effort to finish on time. This expression alludes to the military sense of last ditch, "the last line of defense." Its figurative use dates from the early 1800s.

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